SCAFFOLDING at a town centre pub damaged when a car drove into it has been taken down.

The Dog and Partridge in Manor Street has been closed since October last year when a Land Rover ploughed into it.

Landlord Neil Piper was almost killed, surviving injury only because he and his girlfriend had left the pub briefly to smoke a cigarette.

He told The Bolton News in June that repairs were being delayed because of wranglings over who should carry them out.

Now, scaffolding around the boarded up building has been removed, indicating that a resolution may have been reached.

At the time of the crash, it was thought that the building could be saved, as the car had landed on a steel girder.

The driver of the Land Rover, Craig Durham, aged 41, was charged with dangerous driving while being reckless as to whether life was endangered.

He was found hanged at Clyde's Barbers, the business he owned in Farnworth, in January before being due to enter a plea at Bolton Crown Court on February 6.

His parents later told of their son's anguish, with Mr Durham reportedly terrified of going to prison.